221g green slip. asking client letter and client-vendor contract. but project is over

[taskeen21]

Hello All,

I am stuck in a very complicated situation here. I was interviewed at chennai consulate on 19-OCT-2011 and given 221g blue slip because i dint have client letter and client-vendor contract. 6 months later I received a 221g green slip asking for those documents. However, unfortunately, that project is over and client/vendor are not giving those documents (saying it is illegal). Rightly so, because if consulate decides to pay a visit to the client place for verification then

me->employer->vendor->client are all screwed.

so, now, my employer is telling me there are 3 solutions. all 3 with their own risks.

solution 1: my wife is in the US. She is working on H1B. My employer is telling me to go for a dependent (H4) visa and try to make it to the US first. And then finding a project will be a lot easier. And when i find a project, filing a new H1B should also be easy because I have already held a H1B and should not be put under first-time H1B filing cap.

solution 2: market my resume. attend telephonic interviews from india office (HYD). find another project. once offered a project explain to the new client my situation. hoping they co-operate to provide required documents, collect them and mail them over to the US consulate along with a letter explaining to them that since it is been 6 months since blue slip 221g the project was over and I had to find a new one and here are all the requested documents.

my employer says there is a high possibility in this case that the VO will come back (after taking his own sweet time) saying I should file an H1 amendment.

solution 3: Avoid the time taken with "solution 2" and directly file an h1 amendment. wait for a new i-797. schedule a new stamping appointment. and go for the interview.

I would like to know if any of you have been in this situation and which solution (out of 2 and 3) you followed. And what was the result.

Thank you all in advance.

Syed.

[ashukla]

Syed- I would suggest first one is the best solution for you, because there are some cases who appeared for H4 once they got 221g on their H1. If it is feasible to get H4 then go for it.

Second option has very less chance to go through as new client will not wait for undefined period for visa stamping.

Last one is also for the new client on new project but the problem may be tthe same of client letter.

Option 1 is best, in my opinion.

[mad_sudhan]

I have not been in this situation but i would do as below.

1. Withdraw the pending VISA application from the consulate.

2. Attend H4 VISA interview.

3. If H4 is successful travel to the US, find an other client/direct employer and apply for COS.

4. If H4 not successful find a new client/direct employer from India and go for another VISA interview.

[harinir]

Syed, from the options you have listed, I would say H4 (option 1) is the easiest and quickest. I know so many of my friends who got back to the US on H4 after getting a 221G on their H1 petition.

About options 2 and 3, H1 amendment will be necessary and again this could take a while with USCIS approval, client letter and other dependencies. Not that it is not a feasible option, just that they are way more time consuming and outcome is still not known.

So, if you are fine waiting, you can go with either 2 or 3 (prefer 3 to be a better solution than 2). Else, just go ahead with H4.

Also, incase you go for H4 it's not mandatory to get your H1 withdrawn. You can do that

after you get your H4. I know people who have done it that way and have succeeded getting the H4 while their H1 is still under process.

All the best! Hope things work in your favor.

[taskeen21]

Thank you all for the replies. I really appreciate each and every one of them. - Syed